Never Gone
by Moony8193
Summary: What happened to the community after Jonas and Gabriel left? Read to find out!ONESHOT


A/N: It's not Harry Potter, which is my usual category. However, this was a paper I had to write, and I wondered what people thought of it. Please review- I appreciate all of them!

Disclaimer: Don't sue. Not mine.

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A crowd of worried, anxious people shuffled into a large room. Adults wrapped their arms around small children, who wept inconsolably. Teenagers wearily laid hands on their aching temples, while the elderly hunched over in pain. It took a few minutes for everyone to find their seats, and even when they did, sitting didn't seem to ease their throbbing minds. As it started to quiet down, a small baby began to shriek mournfully. Hearing this, a whole chorus of children started yelling loudly. It only ended when a tall, middle-aged woman shakily climbed the stairs to the stage and peered at them over her rounded glasses. She started to say something, but the words obviously became lodged in her throat. Trying again, she softly said," It has happened."

Anyone under the age of twelve or so looked completely bewildered, but anyone older began crying as immense sobs shook their thin frames. Realizing that not everyone understood, the woman onstage murmured that Jonas had not been released, but he had been lost. Apparently, he had taken a child, Gabriel, with him when the accident happened.

While everyone's attention had previously been focused on the woman, it was quickly diverted to a small family at the front. A young girl had screamed loudly at the woman's announcement of Jonas's fate, and her red-rimmed eyes looked almost manic. Two adults sitting with her, apparently her parents, tried to calm her with soothing words. Unfortunately, the girl refused to be comforted, and quickly sprinted out of the room. Her parents, though they looked as if they were grieving themselves, tiredly got out of their seats and followed as swiftly as their weak bodies would allow. Their voices were hoarse, but you could still hear them yelling, "Lily! Lily! Come back!" Lily's refusal was obvious, as the footsteps and words slowly faded away. This was young Jonas's family, feeling their first pangs of grief at losing two people. First was Jonas, who had been their son for the last thirteen years. Second was Gabriel, who had acted like a second son. The small community felt deeply for this poor, young family who had lost almost everything.

Everyone would have become lost in their thoughts of sorrow if the woman who was still onstage hadn't cleared her throat meaningfully. The depressed audience began to say, " I apologize for interrupting you," but stopped. Apologies didn't matter anymore. What did matter was how they would support each other through the troublesome times that lay ahead.

The woman seemed to understand why they had stopped, as she continued on as if nothing had happened. With a slight grimace, she tearfully proclaimed, " The Giver has decided to be released, as soon as he makes all these terrible memories go away." At her words, everyone gasped. People began whispering frantically to one another, wondering what would happen to their community now.

Above all the noise, a strong male voice declared from the back, " What if we don't want all the memories to go away? What if we, dare I say it, changed our community?"

The room immediately went silent as the speaker strode down the aisle leading to the front of the room. He was young, roughly about thirteen, but there was confidence in his level gaze. Determination sparked in his dark eyes, as the set line of his grim face voiced an unspoken challenge. Courage beyond his years was shown in the proud way he faced the much older, commanding woman.

For seemingly the first time in her life, the woman looked angry. Something in her own dark eyes flickered dangerously as she turned to face the young man. " You dare to challenge our society, young Asher? This is how it has been, for many, many years before you were born. Once before, we had these terrible memories, and they were taken back. We lived a happy life, until it happened again. Now you want us to live in a society, of _choice_ and _freedom_?" She spat the words from her mouth as if she was poorer by giving them away.

Asher spoke clearly as he simply said, " Yes." The crowd went into an uproar, some immediately siding with the woman, and some wondering what Asher meant. Understanding people's confusion, Asher spoke again. " What if we lived in a world where we got to pick what we did? There's nothing terrible about that. What if," he hesitated ever so slightly here as he looked at a young red headed girl in the front row,

" we could love? Won't it _bother_ you to return to a world where love doesn't exist, after you've experienced it?"

The crowd murmured assent, as they looked at people they now realized they loved- children, siblings, wives, husbands, and friends. Could they simply let go of that? Could they go back to living their simple lives, not even remembering their feelings of love, joy, and happiness? Of course, the bad memories would follow. However, they began to realize that love could conquer all. More and more people looked at Asher as they were struck with the realization that he was right. It was time for a change.

Asher softly smiled, hoping that everything would turn out all right. " This is right," he whispered gently. " It's the only way to preserve the memory of Jonas, a person with a dream. A dream for the future- a dream for us. He knew what was being kept from us, and he couldn't live with it. We should honor Jonas. And Gabriel," he quickly added.

The woman only seemed to become angrier, as she shook with rage." Jonas and Gabriel are gone!"

Asher still smiled, though the woman had hoped to provoke him into anger. " Not from my heart," he murmured, his voice as calm as wispy clouds on a bright summer's day.

" Nor mine," said a man from the back. Everyone turned. It was Jonas's father, with his mother and Lily beside him. No one had seen them return, but they all did now as the little family, still marked with pain, walked down the aisle to stand beside Asher.

There was a rustle of movement as many people came to stand with Asher. The red headed girl, Fiona, whom Asher had glanced at before quickly came as she rested her head on his shoulder. The Giver, Asher's family, his friends, even people he hadn't met before all walked over to support him. With a crowd of people behind him, Asher leaned into his opponent until scant inches separated them. " Now tell me that Jonas and Gabriel are truly gone," Asher whispered.

The woman gaped at his supporters as she backed down. " I suppose I can't," she said as her voice trembled. Silently, she walked off the stage and disappeared into the crowd surrounding Asher.

Many years passed as the community learned to deal with the memories. Some adjustments were easy, and some were not. When the Giver saw that his work was done, he felt an immense weight lift from his chest. Occasionally, he worried about Jonas and Gabriel, but he realized it was time to move on. One dusky evening, the Giver left this world to journey to a better, happier place.

Lily grew up and eventually married. The rules had changed to allow people to keep their children- and Lily eventually had eight. She was a much loved and respected member of the community, especially with her job as Nurturer. Release simply didn't happen anymore- everyone was allowed to live out their life to the fullest. Therefore, Lily spent her days taking care of children and living a happy domestic life. Her eventual death was peaceful, at the age of ninety, and surrounded by beloved friends and family members.

Jonas and Lily's parents lived out their life as well. They eventually adopted another child, whom they named Gabriel Jonas, in memory of the two sons they had lost. Lily's father taught her many tricks to Nurturing, and he kept working until the day of his death. Lily's mother eventually couldn't face punishing people as her job, so she took care of Lily's children when Lily worked. Nothing seemed to ever make her happier than when she was surrounded by her loving family.

And lastly, Asher and Fiona married at the age of twenty. Their first son was named Jonas, a constant reminder of their friend who had been brave enough to break away from the community. Though they never saw him again, Asher once awoke to an envelope on the table. The slightly dirty piece of paper read:

_ I'm proud of you._

_ -J._

And in his soul, Asher knew that Jonas lived on.


End file.
